Tube-bending machine.



No. 643,760. Patented Feb. 20, I900. L. H. BRINKMAN.

TUBE BENDING MACHINE.

(Appliration filed June 2, 1899.| (NoJflodeL) 3 Sheets-Sheet I.

HIHIIIIHH THE nomus Pm co, ma'mumo. WAQHXNGTON. o. c.

Patented Feb. 20, I900. L. HPBRINKMAN. TUBE BENDING MACHINE.

(Application filed June 2, 1899.)

3 SheetsSheet 2.

(No Model.)

No. 643,761]. Patented Feb. 20-, I900.

L. H. BBINKMAN. TUBE BENDING MACHINE.

(Application filed June 2, 1899.)

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Shee't 3.

Invenior) THE NORRIS PETERS cu woTo-umou W A$HINGTUN u c UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIES I-I. BRINKMAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

TUBE-BENDING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 643,760, dated February 20, 1906.

Application filed June 2, 1899. Serial No. 719,071. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LOUIES H. BRINKMAN, a citizen of the United States, residingin the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tube-Bending Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

This invention relates to machines which are intended for bending to curvilinear form pipes or tubes of comparatively hardmetal without .indenting or marring the tube or causing it to depart substantially from a truly cylindrical cross-section at any point in its length.

The object of the invention is to produce a machine which shall be capable of bending tubes of relatively-large diameter, the stifiness of which necessitates certain special features of construction. In the new machine the formerwhich determines the shape of the bend to be given to the tube has a relativelylarge radius, and if it were mounted rigidly to revolve upon its own axis, the resistance being applied at a distance from the drivingshaft or driver equal to the radius of the former, the power required to drive it would be so great that the strength of parts required to overcome the danger of breakage would also be so great as to render the practical use of the machine impossible. It has been' sought, therefore, to so arrange and combine the former and its driver as to overcome the difficulties alluded to. In connection with the former may be used a mandrel and other cooperating devices which may be found desirable, according to the nature of the work to be performed.

In the accompanying drawings, for the purpose of enabling the nature of the invention to be readily understood, is represented a tube-bending machine in which the improvements are embodied in a convenient and practical form.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine, partly broken out to save space. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is an end elevation thereof. Fig. 4 is a detail view, partly in section, showing the bed of the machine and the tube-clamp.

The frame of the machine comprises asuitable bed-plate a and legs a, which are se' cured to or form a central hub or bearing a and are secured at their lower ends to a base a The main shaft 1) in the machine shown in the drawings is arranged vertically and is supported to rotate in suitable bearings in the base or pedestal a and in the central hub a It may be rotated by any convenient means, as bya worm-gear c, secured thereto, and a Worm d on a shaft (1; At its upper end, above the bed -plate a, the shaft 2) is adapted to engage and drive the former, hereinafter referred to, and for this purpose it may be provided with a pinion b. The former 6 represented in the drawings is a section of an annulus which may be grooved on its outer face to receive the tube to be bent. The former is intended to rest against and to be driven by the driver 1), and for this purpose it may be formed or provided on its inner face with gear-teeth e to form a rack for engagement with the teeth of the pinion b. Asupplementalformer or presser f, preferably consisting of a grooved pulley, is arranged to press the tube firmly against the former e, and for this purpose it may be carried in a block f, which is arranged to slide in a yoke g and to be pressed toward the former by a screw g, which is threaded in the cross-bar g of the yoke and may be provided with a pinion g and ratchet g for the purpose of lnovingtheblockaud presser. At its inner end the yoke g may engage the vertical shaft 1) to swing thereon, and its position may be fixed by a pin 9 carried by the yoke and engaging any one of aseries of holes a in the bed-plate a. Aclamp h is provided for the purpose of securing the tube firmly to the former e, and a guide-pulley h may be mounted in a block 7L2 and secured to the bed fixed to a head i, which is adj ustably secured by a bolt t upon a rail or track a the operating end of the mandrel being thereby held in the proper position when the machine is in use and the mandrel itself being easily removable to permit of the application of the tube thereto. In handling very heavy tubes or long tubes it may be desirable to support the free end of the tube and also to assist the movement of the tube and to push it positively through the bending devices, thereby reducing the danger of crushing the tube, which is more liable to occur with large tubes if they are pulled through. There is therefore provided upon the shaft b,below the bedplate a, a pinion 11 which engages a rackbar 70. The latter is mounted to slide upon suitable supports, as 7;, and has adjustably secured thereon a standard kiwhich supports a clamp The free end of the tube to be bent may be secured in the clamp L and supported thereby, the pinion I) being properly proportioned to give the necessary movement to the tube. The clamp and its support are represented in Fig. 2 at the right of the head t", but this is merely to avoid confusion in the drawings, as when both the clamp and the mandrel are used at the same time the mandrel head or support must obviously be at the right of or beyond the clamp k and its support.

In the use of this machine the tube to be bent is first slipped upon the mandrel, if one be used, and the mandrel is then placed in position, while the end of the tube is firmly secured by the clamp h to the former e, or it may be that the tube is clamped at some other point to the former, according to the desired location of the bend. The presser f is then screwed up to force and hold the tube closely against the former e, the yoke g having been fixed in the desired position. Motion is then imparted to the driver I) and through it to the former 6, thereby bending the tube in the desired manner.

The description thus far has proceeded upon the assumption that only one rack-bar is employed with its cooperating parts; but, as represented in the drawings, the machine may be provided with two rack-bars, each with its cooperating parts, either for the purpose of preventing delay between successive operations, due to the necessarily slow movement of the machine, or for the purpose of facilitating the bending of long lengths of pipe. The second rack-bar 70 is supported similarly to the first, but on the opposite side of the pinion b and the standard or cross-head t is likewise adapted to be secured thereto, as by suitable clamping-bolts k similar clampingbolts being provided for engagement with the bar 70. In the use of the machine with two rack-bars when the standard or cross-head 70" has been drawn close to the former by one rack-bar it is released from that rack-bar, moved back by hand to its original position, and engaged with the other rack-bar, the machine being reversed meanwhile by any of the means commonly used wit-h machines of this class. The rack-bars may also be used clutch Z2 having been disengaged, the standard k may then be clamped to both rackbars and will be held by them in a fixed position through the engagement of both bars with the pinion b on opposite sides thereof. If it is desired to start the mandrel back, the clamp-standard is released from one of the rack-bars, the clutch is closed, and motion is given to the shaft in a proper direction to I back off the mandrel.

It will be understood that the details of construction herein may be varied more or less from what is shown in the drawings and that the invention therefore is not to be limited to the precise construction and arrangement shown.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a driver of relatively-small radius, a former of relativelylarge radius resting against and driven by the driver and means to press and hold the tube to be bent against the former,substantially as described.

2. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a driving-shaft and pinion of relatively-small radius, a former of relatively-large radius having on one side rack-teeth to be engaged by said pinion and means to press and hold the tube to be bent against the former,substantially as described.

3. In a machine of the character described,- the combination of adriver of relatively-small radius, a former of relatively-large radius resting against anddriven by the driver, and a clamp to secure to the former the tube to be bent, substantially as described.

at. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a driver of relatively-small radius, a former of relatively-large radius resting against and driven by the driver, a yoke mounted concentric with said driver and a presser carried by said yoke, substantially as described.

5. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a driver of relatively-small radius, a former of relatively-large radius resting against and driven by the driver, a yoke mounted concentric with said driver, a pulley mounted in said yoke and a screw carried by said yoke to press said pulley toward said former, substantially as described.

6. The combination of a former upon which the tube is to be bent, a driver to actuate said former and means to push the tube to be bent positively forward while it is being bent, substantially as described.

7. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a former upon which the tube is to be bent, a driver to actuate said former, means to press and hold the tube against the former, a clamp for the rear end of the tube to be bent and means to move said clamp positively toward the driver and former, substantially as described.

8. The combination of a former, means to impart motion thereto, a longitudinally-movable bar, means to move said bar, and a clamp carried by said bar,substantially as described.

9. The combination of a shaft, a former driven by said shaft, a pinion on said shaft, a rack-bar engaging said pinion, and a clamp carried by said rack-bar, substantially as described.

10. The combination of a shaft, a former driven by said shaft, a pinion having a clutch connection with said shaft, means to control such clutch connection, a rack-bar engaging said pinion, and a clamp carried by said rackbar, substantially as described.

11. The combination of a former, means to impart motion thereto, rack-bars, means to drive the same simultaneously in opposite LOUIES I-I. BRINKMAN.

In presence of- ANTHONY N. JESBERA, LoUIs R. MOORE. 

